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Research

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Nutrition & Physical Activity

 

Malnutrition during pregnancy in Malawi:

This study is comparing the effectiveness of 3 supplementary foods in moderately malnourished pregnant Malawian women.  Subjects will receive one of 3 food treatments: 1) a ready-to-use dairy and peanut based supplementary food which delivers about 200% of the RDA of most micronutrients in pregnancy (RUSF), 2)  fortified corn soy blend with a multiple micronutrient tablet which delivers about 200% of the RDA of most micronutrients (CSB+UNI) or 3), the standard of care which is a fortified corn soy blend flour with supplementary iron and folic acid (CSB+fefo), delivering between 0-350% of the RDA.  The primary outcomes will be malnutrition recovery rate, birth weight and birth length.  Micronutrient status, body composition and mental changes are being measured in substudies.  It is hoped that this study will show the benefits of treating moderate malnutrition in pregnancy so that international agencies and national nutrition programs can make the most appropriate choices as they strive to reach the Millennium Development Goals.  This study is in collaboration with Washington University, St Louis and Project Peanut Butter and is funded by USAID, California Agriculture Research Initiative, US Dairy Export Council, Dairy Research Initiative and Feed the Future grants.

Principal Investigator: Peggy Papathakis, ppapatha@calpoly.edu, 805-756-7205

 

 

Effect of fructose-containing sugars in pediatric obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)

This study is examining the effects of fructose on liver function in pigs. Leptin-resistant Iberian pigs will be assigned three diets with increasing levels of fructose over 12 week-period. Biopsies from liver and muscle and a proteomic analysis will be performed to assess fat accumulation and expression of genes and proteins involved in de novo lipogenic pathways.

Principal Investigator: Rodrigo Manjarín,  rmanjari@calpoly.edu​

 
Physical Activity Assessment

Observational and experimental studies are studying the impact of too much sitting and too little exercise on risk of developing chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease and cancer. New methods and technology are being tested to better measure activity-related behaviors and improve our understanding of how these behaviors relate to health. Current projects are focused on understanding how much time women spend sitting before and during pregnancy, and evaluating daily sitting and television viewing behaviors among older adults. 

Principal Investigator: Sara Keadle, skeadle@calpoly.edu

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